Pubdate: Fri, 09 Jan 2004 Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Copyright: 2004 Lexington Herald-Leader Contact: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240 Author: Bill Estep NEW PLANS FOR DRUG WAR Pence, Stumbo Meet To Work Together FRANKFORT - Republican Lt. Gov. Steve Pence and Democrat Attorney General Greg Stumbo, who have been seen as potential rivals in their efforts to fight drugs, met yesterday to discuss how their plans could work together. Stumbo said earlier he had planned to start the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation inside his office to fight drugs, using part of a $390,000 pot of money left over from his predecessor. However, Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration took back the money because of the state's fiscal crisis. Stumbo met last night with Brad Cowgill, Fletcher's budget director, to discuss budget issues facing the attorney general's office and prosecutors across the state. Stumbo and Cowgill both said they came away with a better understanding of the problems each faces. Stumbo said Cowgill asked him to submit a revised budget proposal. Until budget questions are resolved, Stumbo said, he won't know how soon he could start the KBI or what its scope might be. But Stumbo said he first wants to see what role his office could best play in the war on drugs, and how his ideas could fit into a plan for attacking drugs that Pence is developing. Pence yesterday asked him to help put the plan together, Stumbo said. Pence and Stumbo both campaigned on a pledge to crack down on drug traffickers. Both also are seen as potential candidates for higher office - -- giving rise to speculation about a potential political fight over how to conduct Kentucky's drug war. Fletcher appointed Pence secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, which includes the Kentucky State Police -- the agency that does most drug investigations in the state. But both officeholders said they don't want to be at odds in the fight against drugs. Wes Irvin, director of communications for Fletcher, said the state budget crisis, not politics, was behind the move to "recapture" money from Stumbo's office. The governor searched for every penny available to plug a projected $300 million-plus shortfall in the current fiscal year. The administration took back money from various state offices in the process, Irvin said. The $390,000 recouped from the attorney general's office had been designated for hiring, but former Attorney General Ben Chandler saved it by not filling several administrative slots. Stumbo said earlier he had hoped to use some of the money to start the KBI, which would investigate various crimes, including public corruption, but have a strong focus on illegal drugs. Stumbo hasn't officially set up the KBI, but has hired David James, a longtime narcotics officer with the Louisville police, to head it. Stumbo envisioned the KBI doing drug investigations and acting as a "coordinating entity" among police at all levels and the public to bring together information about suspected drug activity. He and James have discussed setting up a toll-free telephone number to receive tips and getting a grant for a computer system to synthesize drug intelligence. Stumbo said the goal would not be to round up street-level dealers, as other police agencies often do, but to target larger distributors. "We want to attack the distribution system," he said. Stumbo said about half the 40 investigators in his office would be available to shift from other assignments to the KBI. Stumbo said his office would target drug traffickers through both criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits to take away their assets. Stumbo last year proposed raising the state cigarette tax and using the money to create the KBI within the state police. If the legislature wants to come up with money for the KBI and put it inside the KSP, he would support that, Stumbo said. However, he said legislators have told him it's unlikely the General Assembly will raise taxes this year. That's why he wanted to go ahead and start the KBI within his office, Stumbo said. For his part, Pence is developing a plan aimed at fusing education efforts to reduce demand for drugs with enforcement and rehabilitation into one "seamless" attack on the state's debilitating drug problem. Pence said there are gaps in the system now. For example, the state needs a better way to figure out who should go to prison for selling drugs and who should instead be in treatment, he said. Expanded use of drug courts could be one way to bridge that gap, Pence said. Pence said his plan might require some treatment resources that aren't now available. But he said that overall there is a adequate money available if the state has a good plan for using it. "What we need to do is spend smart," Pence said. Earlier this week, Pence seemed skeptical of Stumbo's idea to start the KBI in his office. State police already do a good job investigating drugs, and the state needs to be careful not to duplicate those efforts, he said. In other states with bureaus of investigation, the state police do highway patrol, and not a wide range of criminal investigations as in Kentucky, Pence said. Stumbo said the drug problem is so monumental that there is plenty of room for more troops to fight it. "It's going to take all Kentuckians to try to beat this problem," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman